Squarepoint Ops LLC Increases Stock Position in Westlake Corporation $WLK

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC more than doubled its Westlake position in the second quarter, increasing holdings by 107.5% to 79,967 shares valued at approximately $5.8 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 28.4% of WLK.
• Westlake’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with adjusted earnings of $2.01 per share and revenue of $3.27 billion, up 10.8% year over year. The company also slightly increased its quarterly dividend to $0.533 per share, implying a 3.0% annual yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: WLK has a consensus “Hold” rating and a $93.79 price target, while shares recently traded at $70.77—well below the 52-week high of $124.23. Chairman Albert Chao also sold 38,873 shares valued at about $3.1 million.

Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 107.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 79,967 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 41,435 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Westlake worth $5,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WLK. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Westlake by 79.5% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,054 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,353 shares during the period. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in Westlake during the second quarter valued at $69,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Westlake by 5,958.8% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,693,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $196,640,000 after purchasing an additional 2,649,241 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the second quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, AlphaGrep UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the second quarter worth about $897,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Westlake from $110.00 to $89.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. KeyCorp began coverage on Westlake in a report on Friday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $92.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Westlake from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Westlake from $127.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $93.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total value of $3,120,724.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 642,880 shares in the company, valued at $51,610,406.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Westlake Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE WLK opened at $70.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.45. The firm has a market cap of $9.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.39 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.25. Westlake Corporation has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $124.23.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.18. Westlake had a negative net margin of 10.94% and a positive return on equity of 0.93%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($1.11) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake Corporation will post 3.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $0.533 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 25th. This is a positive change from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Westlake's payout ratio is currently -22.23%.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corporation is a global manufacturer of performance and essential materials headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company produces chemicals, polymers and building products used in construction, infrastructure, packaging, healthcare, consumer goods and other industrial applications.

Its Performance and Essential Materials businesses manufacture products such as chlor-alkali chemicals, vinyl chloride monomer, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene, epoxy resins and related specialty materials.

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